ABSTRACT
Recent developments in biotechnology involving human tissue are sweeping our interactions with this material well beyond the boundaries of existing law. Some of these developments allow profit-oriented companies to use human tissue to generate lucrative products such as drugs, diagnostic tests, and human proteins. Modern legal systems have consistently held that no property rights attach to the human body. This standard has been affirmed regardless of whether the human body was alive or not. Courts have also consistently refused to recognize any form of property rights in a living human body. This reflects society's moral abhorrence toward any form of slavery. The legal recognition of property rights in the pecuniary value of one's name, voice, appearance, and personal features may appear contrary to the basic philosophy. No one can claim exclusive property rights in information that is found in a common state, as the information is free for all to discover and utilize.
